Of Fish and Farewells
by Inkspattering
Summary: Life in the Valley of the Four Winds has been peaceful for Nia, a Tauren hunter. Since the fall of Garrosh, she's spent most of her time on her farm with Jogu. But as trouble brews in Draenor, that solace will soon be shattered. Oneshot. Tauren X Jogu the Drunk. My very first Fanfiction story. I'd truly appreciate any feedback!


**(A/N: Hello, everyone. I've never posted a story before, but I've read more than I'd care to admit, so here goes nothing. Any and all feedback is greatly appreciated. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Except my Tauren, Nia. I created her ten years ago when WoW first went live.**

**Oh, and minor spoilers for the Warlords of Draenor expansion.****)**

The distant sound of the hustle of Halfhill awoke Nia gradually, just as the noise did every morning. The tauren slowly sat up, rolling her shoulders and yawning. She massaged a knot in her neck with her calloused fingers, scratching her side with her other hand. The sweet scent of earth and the harvest met her nose. She inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma. Ever since she'd left Mulgore all those years ago, she had a soft spot for the smell of fresh earth.

She'd seen many places (both beautiful and terrible), but there was something...special about Pandaria. She'd never found such a peaceful place. Then again, it could be simply because she'd found a place to belong after so many years of wandering. She flopped her tail over the side of her bed, a lavish present from Tina Mudclaw (along with the rest of the furnishings in the small farmhouse). The embroidered cushions held an exotic yet familiar charm; Nia thought of the style of Silvermoon City, and the Blood Elves in general. She'd seen a few blood elves in Pandaria, mostly with Lor'Themar and the Sunreaver's Assault. When she'd first left Mulgore (the urge to call it "home" existed, but she'd never really belonged there), she saw an Orc woman for the first time. Her skin was smooth and the color of the plains of Bloodhoof Village, and her eyes were the color of rubies.

Nia had never seen something more strange or beautiful, or so she'd thought. She'd envied the woman's slim and lithe form, the quiet way she walked, even her long pony tail, despite its rough texture.

Nia had immediately set to growing out her mane so she could braid it. But when she'd journeyed to Silvermoon City and met a Blood Elf for the first time, she nearly wept.

She remembered him vividly (for it was a male that she'd encountered first); his long hair was the color of ink and his eyes glowed with Sunwell energy. After she spoke to him, she'd realized that he was pretentious and dull as a brick, but she still remembered her admiration for such a graceful creature.

Nay, these days she felt more of a kinship with the Pandaren and the Jinyu (and even the Hozen) than the fair folk she used to view so highly.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed, pulling on a robe over her shoulders. Her simple silk trousers had become rumpled during her slumber, but her linen chest bindings had stayed put. She knotted the ties of the robe as she went outside, opting for a quick bath in the pond.

Nia scanned her small piece of Pandaria, making sure no unwanted adventurers or villagers would interrupt her privacy. Scruff, the farm dog, came bounding towards her, barking and yipping playfully. Nia bent and scratched the beast's tan fur, paying special attention to his ears. He looked like the coyotes that roamed Mulgore during the day, ravaging the camp and terrorizing the local population.

The sound of heavy footsteps made Nia turn and stand up. Her unfortunately named Devilsaur had come to greet her for the morning as well.

"Here, Fluff," Nia called, her voice still rough from sleep. The fearsome creature thumped towards her, letting out a low rumble. He shoved his massive head into her chest, soaking up her heat. Her skilled fingers found the bit of skin on his neck that was his favorite to be scratched. The spines on his back flexed and folded a few times, signifying his pleasure. Nia went back inside and retrieved a haunch of plainshawk that she'd caught yesterday, bringing it back out to her two charges. Tearing off a sizable piece for Scruff, she tossed the haunch to Fluffy. The pair set to the food ravenously, and Nia chuckled at their behavior; though she fed them almost too much, they always acted as if they hadn't eaten in weeks.

A warm breeze drifted through the land, the grasses and trees rustling in a collective sigh. Nia found herself at the edge of the pond, the cool water lapping at the edge. She removed her robe and draped it over one of the bushes she had planted around the pond for privacy; she left her trousers and bindings on. The water enveloped her without a ripple. She undid her braids and let her soft hair drift in the water.

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist from behind, and she smiled.

"Jogu," she hummed, leaning back in his embrace.

"You awoke late," he rasped. Nia had once winced at the way the Jinyu's voice bubbled and garbled; it reminded her of when she was a child and some of the villagers had gotten sick with water in the lungs. Now, however, her chest fluttered when he spoke.

"I was tired," she said, turning to face him. "The Celestials had me dueling their trainees yesterday. I got back late."

"I know," he rumbled, pulling her closer. He leaned back, pulling her forward so she no longer had to tread water. He kicked his webbed feet a few times, propelling them towards the center of the pond where the water was the deepest.

"I don't see why you still help them," he muttered. She laid her head back on his shoulder.

"I want-" she started.

"I know, I know, their fancy tabard," he interrupted. He traced the spots on her arms with one of his claws.

"And an onyx cloud serpent," Nia said, pouting.

"You know you favor your wyvern," Jogu reasoned. Nia had to agree; she preferred the agility of the wind-rider over the gentle loping of her current cloud serpent. The elegant beast spent most of its time in the care of the stable master.

"I still need the practice with sparring," Nia said. "I have to keep in shape. Who knows when I'll be called to battle?"

"You won't," Jogu huffed. "You've done enough; let other champions have a chance to be great."

Nia laughed. Her past exploits were well known to her partner; once he's managed to crawl from the bottle, his mind was itching for tales of the far away lands she'd been to.

They floated together in silence for several more minutes before Nia rolled off and sank into the water. Jogu watched the surface for a full minute before preparing to dive down after her.

Finally she broke the water's surface and Jogu relaxed. The pair swam back to shore and dried off before going back to the small farmhouse. Jogu had a small home of his own a short distance from the pond, but he preferred to dwell wherever Nia was.

Nia checked her provisions.

"We need rice," she said. She stopped herself from noting aloud that she was out of plumberry wine; Jogu was six months sober, and she needed to be, too.

Not everything Nia had seen was pleasant; she'd experienced many horrors during her time traveling this world and Outlands, some more scarring than others. The faces of her enemies haunted her as much as the faces of her victims. Her hands were stained red with all of the lives she'd taken, and not all of them were evil. She needed the wine to sleep on nights that Jogu wasn't around; she never drank enough to get drunk, she just needed a bit to calm her mind and chase the demons away.

"What's this?" Nia heard Jogu ask. She looked to where he stood in the doorway. He held an envelope that was slightly scorched and wrinkled.

"Where'd you get that?" Nia asked, taking the envelope in her hands. She froze when she saw the seal. Her chest tightened and her ears pricked forward as she broke the wax and read.

_Archmage Khadgar, hero of the Second War, is assembling a coalition of Azeroth's strongest to bravely step through the Dark Portal and stop the Iron Horde's invasion of Azeroth. _

_Champions who are interested in glory can meet Khadgar at the base of the Dark Portal in Blasted Lands. _

_Safety not guaranteed._

Jogu put a webbed hand on her arm.

"What is it?"

Nia took a deep breath. It was written in Orcish; Jogu only knew Common.

"Garrosh Hellscream is planning an invasion of Azeroth with his Iron Horde," Nia said. Jogu's eyes widened.

"No," he gasped. He clutched her arm tighter, his blue eyes piercing hers with an almost painful intensity. "What does this mean for you?"

Nia shook her head and rolled up the paper, tucking it into her robe pocket. She pulled away from her...paramour? The lines of what Jogu was to her were blurry.

"I need to be alone," she said.

"You can't mean you're thinking of going?" Jogu asked. He clenched his fists. "Let someone else have the glory! You've honored your responsibilities! They have no right to ask more of you!"

"I have no more right to deny them than you have to ask me to stay!" Nia shouted. Jogu stepped back.

"I need some time to think," Nia huffed. She stormed from the farmhouse, wishing to slam a door. What was with Pandaria and not having doors? Silvermoon had doors. Dalaran had doors. There was nothing more satisfying than slamming a door.

She stormed into town ten minutes later, heading straight to the inn.

Lei Lan greeted her warmly as she entered, but fell quiet when he saw the dark look on her face.

"Plumberry wine," Nia growled. "And I need that chest I paid to have stored."

Den Den, the barkeeper, plucked a flask from behind the counter and handed it to Nia.

"The chest's upstairs," Lei Lan said, fishing a key from her pocket. Nia tossed a few coins on the counter, accepted the key, and went upstairs.

The chest in question was a dark red with gold, swirled hinges. She'd picked it up somewhere in Silvermoon. The key was ornate and delicate; Nia's large hands made it appear tiny. She unlocked and opened the chest with little ceremony, letting the lid flip back with a creak. She removed the cloth over the top, revealing her mail armor.

Her chestpiece was on top; she removed it first, rubbing her thumb over a knick that refused to come out. Her leg guards came next, then her gauntlets and bracers. Her belt and boots came next; her trinkets and jewelry were last. She laid each piece out with care and picked up the buffing cloth and oil in the bottom of the chest.

She spent the next hour carefully cleaning and inspecting her armor before putting it all on. She was pleased to find that it still fit perfectly; she hadn't let herself go in the past year since Garrosh's downfall. She inspected the bottle of wine that she'd purchased. Guilt had overcome her after she had begun cleaning her armor. She hadn't opened it. She slipped it into one of her bags and stood, closing the chest and heading downstairs. She returned the key to Lei Len before venturing back outside.

Her armor clinked and glittered in the midmorning sun. The smell of grilled and fried food lingered in the air, but a still had fallen over the town. Nia went into the center of Halfhill where other adventurers were gathered, about six in total.

"What's going on?" Nia asked.

"Did you receive a missive of recruitment?" a Blood Elf asked. Their body was clad heavily in plate, so much so that their gender was unrecognizable.

"Yes," Nia said.

"An image of Khadgar appeared in the Shrine of Seven Stars," the elf said. "He conjured a portal. All of the adventurers are asked to go there immediately. We're heading there in an hour."

"I'll follow tomorrow," Nia said. The elf shrugged. "Fair enough."

Nia left town after purchasing supplies for her journey. She made sure her wyvern was ready for the journey, cleaning his tack and saddling him up. She mounted him and nudged him into a run out of town and towards the rolling hills of the valley.

After she felt that her wyvern was stretched out, she whistled, and the wyvern leapt into the air, stretching out his long, leathery wings.

They gained altitude in a spiraling motion, circling high above the plains and the town below. Nia could see her farm in the distance, and she guided the wyvern towards her patch of Pandaria. The wind whipped through her mane and her braids fluttered against her armor. She guided the wyvern down to the ground and the beast landed gracefully, folding its wings with a rustle.

"Stay," Nia said, scratching its chin. It purred and sat down, its scorpion tail curling around it.

"Jogu," Nia called.

"Here," she heard a voice say from the farmhouse. She headed inside to find Jogu lying on the bed.

He turned his head as she approached, but didn't sit up.

"You look intimidating," he said. Nia was unsure if it was meant as a compliment.

"I'll come back," she said, biting the inside of her cheek. Jogu laughed a dark, hollow bark.

"When have you ever gone back to the other places you've left?" he asked. "Do you have a string of lovers across all of Azeroth, waiting for your return? Did you tell them the same thing?"

"You are my first, and I will come back," Nia said. "I never returned because nothing was tying me to those places. I wandered, never really belonging, and I am surprised I was not killed, because although I was focused on self-preservation, I didn't truly have a reason to keep going. But now I have you, and I will return."

Jogu was silent as he stared at the ceiling.

Nia unbuckled her mail armor, placing each piece on the floor with a gentle clink. She rolled her shoulders, clad only in her favorite black shirt and dark trousers before kneeling before the side of the bed.

"I pledge my honor as a champion of not only the Horde, but of Azeroth herself, that I will return to the hills of Pandaria, and to the side of one who has given me what I needed the most."

"Booze?" Jogu asked drily.

"A home," Nia said quietly. She flopped onto the bed beside Jogu and curled into his side. He turned and wrapped his arms around her, and Nia heard a sound she'd only heard one other time. It was a rasping, wheezing noise punctuated by the occasional coughing sound; Jogu was crying.

"What if you are killed?" he finally choked out. Nia was silent; she remembered the last line of the letter: _"Safety not guaranteed."_ Danger was always implied in her line of work. For a letter to outright say it? The mission was most likely suicidal.

"Then we should not waste the time we do have left," she said finally. She rolled to face his chest and buried her nose in his shirt, breathing in his scent. He smelled slightly of mud, but also of the reeds that grew around the pond. Tears stung Nia's sky blue eyes as she thought about having to leave what she so held dear.

They lay like that for what seemed like an eternity; the sun crept across the sky, casting a sunbeam through the door. Nia saw that Jogu had dozed off. She gently pried herself from his grasp, covering him with one of the thin, silky blankets. She pulled out a piece of parchment and scribbled a note before leaving the house. She whistled to the wyvern that was sleeping in the tall grass. It sat up and loped towards her.

Nia flew to the middle of Halfhill again, landing near where a few of the Tillers stood. She spotted Haohan Mudclaw and waved to him.

"Ah, traveler," he said. "What can I help you with?" His face frowned. "Though I don't think it's still appropriate to call you traveler."

"I will become a traveler and a wanderer once more," Nia sighed. "I have been called away on an...urgent matter. I need to ensure that Jogu will be taken care of."

"Ah, yes, you two have become close," Haohan remarked. "How can I help?"

"The farm needs to be in his name," Nia said. Haohan nodded.

"Done."

"And supplies need to be delivered to the farmhouse every few days. He does not travel into town much. Take it from my account."

"Done," Haohan said again.

"And Jogu is now allowed free use of any of my assets," Nia said. "My gold both stored here and in the Shrine is his now."

Haohan's eyes widened. "Are you sure that's wise, considering his past?"

"He may do whatever he pleases with my money," Nia said. "Though I hope he does not turn to the bottle again. If you and the other Tillers support him, he won't be forced to destroy himself like that again." Nia's stare was hard as Haohan swallowed.

"O-of course," he said.

"Perhaps we will meet again," Nia said. "But considering the circumstances, it is unlikely. Do not speak of that to Jogu, though. He must keep heart, for that will be what gives him strength."

Haohan nodded, and Nia left him, mounting her wyvern again and flying back to her home.

She found Jogu sitting on the bottom step, his staff balanced across his knees.

"I'm coming with you," he said.

"No," Nia said. "Do not make this harder."

"I'm a skilled fighter when sober, and I can control the tides," he reasoned.

"But you have no experience of war, Jogu, and you belong here."

"I belong by your side, to protect you," Jogu said. His sapphire eyes were earnest.

"I would be doing the protecting," Nia said. "I could not live with myself knowing that I got you killed. I need to know you are safe, and with people that will take care of you. I will be in a new and strange land, and I need one thing that I will be able to believe beyond a shadow of a doubt, even if the skies are purple and it rains fire. I need to believe that you are safe, here, and that I need to do everything in my power to come back to you."

Jogu looked to the ground.

"What if I cannot live without you?" he asked.

"You can, and you will," Nia said. "I will do everything to come back, but if I do not, you have to swear that you will not take to the bottle again."

"I..."

"Swear to me!" she growled.

"I swear I will not go back to my old ways," Jogu said. Nia relaxed.

"Remember your promise when I am gone," she said. "Come. We should get something to eat."

They ate a quick meal before Nia set to packing everything she needed.

"Here," Jogu said when she was nearly finished. She looked up. He held out his hand and dropped something into her palm.

She examined it and saw that it was a necklace. The strong cord was twisted expertly, with a white, round, glass pendant at the end.

"Thank you," she said.

"You do not get it, do you?" Jogu asked. Nia shook her head. "This was made from the broken pieces of the bottle of Four Wind Soju that you threw at my head on the day I decided to go sober."

Nia's eyes widened. She remembered losing her temper with Jogu when he came to her house completely smashed one morning. She had shouted and tossed whatever he was drinking at the wall behind him, and he got so frightened that he had passed out then and there. Nia could not move him; he was larger than her, so she had left him next to the pool of booze and glass to sleep it off. When he'd awoken several hours later, he'd told Nia that he wanted help getting sober.

Nia touched the pendant with a newfound reverence. She noticed a matching necklace around Jogu's neck

"Thank you, Jogu," she said. She gently kissed his cheek and put her necklace on. He gently touched it and looked at her, eyes watering.

Nia and Jogu made their way to the roof to watch the sunset; they fell asleep slumped against each other beneath the stars. Nia knew this would be her last peaceful night in a long time; it was truly the calm before the storm.

She felt a sort of foreboding presence upon her when she awoke early the next morning. Jogu and she had fried peaches for breakfast. Neither of them said a word. She saddled her wyvern and loaded her supplies on the agile beast before crushing Jogu in a tight hug. He returned the affection with an even greater force. They stood there for several long minutes before Nia pried herself away. She kissed Jogu's cheek and touched his necklace with one hand, bringing her other hand to her own pendant that she wore.

"So this is it," she said. "Goodbye, my dear one. It has truly been a pleasure."

"Goodbye, my gentle wildflower," he said, tracing her jaw line with a claw. "I await your return."

Nia knew she had to go now or she'd never be able to leave. She mounted her wyvern and nudged it into a run, gaining speed before whistling. They caught air immediately, and in a few moments, Jogu was merely a speck against the green earth below.

"I will come back," Nia said, starting towards the Shrine.

* * *

><p>A week later, Jogu hadn't heard anything. Halfhill was quiet, and no news came about the Iron Horde.<p>

He'd finally had enough of waiting. He rented a kite to the Shrine of Seven Stars on the tenth day after Nia had left.

When he'd arrived, the Shrine was bustling. He made his way inside, but the crowds were making it hard to navigate. He finally found a quiet part of the Shrine. The barkeeper was wiping a mug with a wine stained rag.

"What's going on?" he asked the Pandaren. "I thought there was a portal to the Dark Portal here."

"You haven't heard?" the Pandaren asked. Jogu's heart skipped a beat as he shook his head. The Pandaren set the mug down on a table. "The battle was in full swing when a small group of adventurers went through. Only one came back, badly wounded. He was one of those blood elves. He said that they were losing and needed reinforcements, and that they'd all die if they didn't. Suddenly, everyone felt this wave of energy expel from the portal. No one could go through it and it collapsed. They sent adventurers to the Blasted Lands where the actual portal is, and the whole portal is gone. Collapsed. No one can get in or out. Everyone on the other side's dead."

Jogu wanted to be sick. "No," he whispered. "That can't be."

"The best mages are trying to get another portal open, but the power needed is astronomical. It's impossible. We just need to be thankful that the Iron Horde can't make a portal either."

Jogu was in shock.

She was dead.

He sat down in one of the chairs, placed his head on the table, and wept.

**(A/N: That wasn't too bad, was it? Please let me know what you thought!)**


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